At ISL we pride ourselves on being dispassionate truth-seekers when it comes to assessing risky behaviors in technology. But this moment in history requires expressing our passion for truth and our core values more openly.
What’s currently happening in the US is, by design, disruptive, disorienting, and discouraging for many. The calculated dehumanizing of trans people and immigrants coupled with the TESCREAL eugenics AI agenda elucidated by Timnit Gebru1 foretells a worrying, broader dehumanization campaign ahead. As does the ongoing systematic removal and censorship of any kind of diversity, trans rights or related language on government sites. These actions inexorably lead to the detention and removal of targeted people, which, sadly, has begun.
This moment calls for pausing, ignoring the external chaos and looking within, to our own guiding north stars and speaking out for the values within us that reflect deep truths. Deep truths such as: love and celebration of diversity being vital for both humankind’s and the planet’s survival; it’s certainly vital for the work that we do every day at ISL.
Diversity, equity, and inclusivity are the way. Any other exclusionary, reductive, oppressive, dehumanizing way is antithetical to the truths of human kinship and interdependence and denies the reality that healthy ecosystems need diversity to sustain and thrive.
ISL exposes safety risks inherent in tech when used as intended. In other words, we’ve been establishing reasonable safety standards for the behavior of software-driven products and services. But how can we contemplate “safety” without the necessary question: “for whom?”
Many people think that ISL is solely focused on the safety of tech used by children. It may surprise you to know that that’s not our mission. It’s the brunt of our currently funded work, but our corporate vision is:
“A world where all digital products are safe for humans and humankind.”
In other words, safety for all.
I take this moment to reaffirm ISL’s commitment to prioritizing and fostering conditions to create a truly diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization.